Letter: Social skills must go hand-in-hand with academic considerations

Letter: Social skills must go hand-in-hand with academic considerations

Several researchers suggest that there is a rise in challenging behaviors among children in early care and education across the United States and high rates of students removed from preschool classrooms for behavioral problems.

Here on the Treasure Coast the number of students in our schools with challenging behaviors is also increasing. On a daily basis I observe or learn of cases where students challenge school authority and question the actions of school staff and educators.

Traditional punitive interventions for student behavior are failing. In sum, practices fall short on developing personal responsibility and accountability, or teach life skills to students who present chronic behavior challenges.

As we prepare students for academic success we must strike a balance in assisting them in areas of social skill development to become productive contributors to society.

The deficit of social and behavioral skills facilitates a risk for an array of problems that will negatively impact our communities and society at large; problems such as social maladjustment, school dropout, delinquencies, and incarceration.

We must take serious action in effecting change regarding this issue by advocating for improved social and behavioral skills in our schools' curricula. Only then will we benefit from increased academic achievement.

I am in no way critiquing our school system. I am an advocate for education, hoping that my observation and opinion will be a catalyst in redirecting and navigating a chartered course of success in the effective teaching of behaviors and social skills to our children especially at the early childhood developmental stage.

Preparing both parents and students for the behavioral expectations and equipping the children in areas of social skill at the onset of their educational journey is integral to their and our success.